1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foot pedal for beating the drum head of a bass drum by pressing the pedal itself.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various foot pedals for a drum of such a kind have been proposed.
For example, FIGS. 7 to 11 show a foot pedal for a drum which has been described in JP08-146946A and whose structure will briefly be explained below.
This foot pedal for a drum has been proposed for the purpose of setting a bass drum or the foot pedal at an angle (orientation) at which a player can play the best.
That is, in FIGS. 7 and 8, reference numeral 100 denotes a generally U-shaped frame, reference numerals 101 and 102 denote struts, reference numeral 103 denotes a bottom plate, reference numeral 104 denotes a shaft supported between the struts 101, 102, reference numeral 105 denotes a rocker fixed to the shaft 104, reference numeral 106 denotes a beater mounted adjacent to the rocker 105, reference numeral 107 denotes a spring for imparting a returning force to the shaft 104, reference numeral 108 denotes a pressing force transmitting member, such as a chain, whose one end is fixed to an outer peripheral face of the rocker 105, reference numeral 109 denotes a pedal which is coupled to the other end of the pressing force transmitting member 108 and whose heel side is supported by a shaft 110, reference numeral 111 denotes a clamp metal fitting for fixing the whole foot pedal to a hoop of a bass drum, reference numeral 112 denotes a fixing screw for driving the clamp metal fitting 111, and reference numeral 113 denotes an anchor screw for preventing the whole footpedal from displacing on a floor face.
Also, as shown in detail in FIG. 8, reference numeral 200 denotes a coupling plate whose rear end portion is fixed to a heel 114 of the pedal 109 by a screw 201 and whose front end portion is screwed to the bottom plate 103 of the frame 100 by a screw 202.
Incidentally, reference numerals 203 and 204 denote creepers formed on a back face of the coupling plate 200.
In the conventional foot pedal constituted in the above manner, the frame 100 is rotatable about the screw 202 relative to the coupling plate 200.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, in a state that the frame 100 has been fixed to the hoop 301 of the bass drum 300 by the clamp metal fitting 111, the coupling plate 200 can be rotated together with the pedal 109. Accordingly, for example, in case that the foot pedal is operated by the right foot of a player or a drummer, the pedal 109 can be set such that the heel 114 is directed inwardly in a state that a front face of the bass drum 300 is directed to an audience, as shown in FIG. 9. Even in this case, the beater 106 can beat the drum head along a direction perpendicular thereto.
Since the conventional foot pedal has such a structure, the foot pedal 109 or the bass drum 300 can be set in an optimal orientation for a player or a drummer.
Incidentally, FIG. 11 shows a structure for preventing the pressing force transmitting member 108 from being distorted.
In FIG. 11, reference numeral 115 denotes a fixing metal fitting which is mounted to one end portion of the pressing force transmitting member 108, reference numeral 116 denotes a bolt, reference numeral 117 denotes a rotary plate, reference numeral 118 denotes a screw hole formed at one end portion of the pedal 109. The pressing force transmitting member 108 and the pedal 109 are coupled to each other by sandwiching the fixing metal fitting 115 and the rotary plate 117 between the bolt 116 and the pedal 109 to screw the bolt 116 into the screw hole 118.
According to this structure, since the pedal 109 is allowed to rotate relative to the pressing force transmitting member 108 slightly, consideration has been taken such that distortion does not occur in the pressing force transmitting member 108 even when the pedal 109 is set to the frame 100 at such a position that the former has been rotated relative to the latter, as shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10,
According to the above-described conventional art, it is possible to set the pedal 109 at a desired angle (orientation) securely, but there are the following problems.
First of all, it is assumed that the frame 100 is rotated relative to the coupling plate 200 by a desired angle, and the whole foot pedal is fixed to the hoop 301 of the bass drum 300 by the clamp metal fitting 111 according to fastening of the screw 202. In this state, when a player is not satisfied with the angle (orientation) of the pedal 109 and he/she wishes to adjust it finely, it is necessary to loosen the screw 202, acting as a rotation center axis, which rotatably supports the frame 100 to the coupling plate 200.
However, in order to loosen the screw 202 while the frame 100 remains fixed to the hoop 301, it is necessary to lift this side (player side) of the bass drum 300 slightly to loosen the screw 202 from the underside of the coupling plate 200 (a floor face side) by a screw driver or the like, which requires an extremely complicated and troublesome work.
Also, when such means is not taken, a procedure including steps of loosening the screw 202, adjusting a relative rotational angle between the frame 100 and the coupling plate 200, and thereafter fixing the whole foot pedal to the hoop 301 by the clamp metal fitting 111 after the screw 202 is fastened again must be employed in a state that the whole foot pedal has been detached from the hoop 301 by releasing clamping conducted by the clamp metal fitting 111.
Even in either case, conventionally, the angle (orientation) setting work for the pedal 109 is extremely complicated and difficult to conduct, and the foot pedal for a drum is inconvenient in use.
In view of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a foot pedal for a drum which facilitates a setting work of an angle for a pedal and where convenience in use has been improved by performing various improvements.
In order to solve the above problem, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foot pedal for a drum which beats a drum head by swinging a beater according to pressing of a pedal, comprising a heel which pivotally supports the pedal along a pressing direction of the pedal; and a base plate which has an arc-shaped guide groove allowing pivoting of the heel on a horizontal plane, wherein the pedal and the heel are pivotable integrally along the guide groove, and the heel can be fixed to the base plate at any position along the guide groove.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a foot pedal for a drum according to the first aspect, further comprising: a frame which is provided in a standing manner and fixed on a top face of the base plate; a shaft which is bridged between a pair of struts of the frame and to which a beater is fixed; a pressing force transmitting member which transmits a pressing of the pedal to the shaft to rotate the shaft and swing the beater; an angle adjusting member which is connected to an end of the pressing force transmitting member which is positioned on a side opposed to the shaft to pivotably support the pedal at a distal end portion thereof; a fixing screw for fixing the pedal to the angle adjusting member from the above; and another fixing screw for fixing the heel to the base plate from the above.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a foot pedal for a drum according to the second aspect, wherein the angle adjusting member has at least one angle adjusting face which comes in plane contact with an end face of the pedal to position the pedal.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a foot pedal for a drum according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the heel is formed so as to be movable on the base plate in a direction generally perpendicular to the guide groove. With this constitution, the heel and the pedal can be moved in forward and rearward directions of a foot of a player.
As described above, according to the invention, the angle (orientation) of the pedal can be set as a player wishes in a state that the foot pedal remains fixed to the bass drum. Also, setting of the pedal can be performed by only operation of the fixing screws and positioning operation of the pedal. Therefore, such a complicated work is not required that the foot pedal is detached from the bass drum or the screw is operated from the underside of the foot pedal, so that a foot pedal which is much convenient in use can be provided.
Further, since the foot pedal for a drum of the present invention can be manufactured by only improving an existing foot pedal for a drum slightly, the present invention can be realized at a low cost.